7 Sensational Smoothies With A Strange Ingredient

My husband and I moved to a small studio apartment in San Francisco at the beginning of the year. Over the last six months we’ve basically had smoothies every day for breakfast.

It may sound boring to have the smoothies over and over again. But over the days, weeks and months, I’ve accumulated more than 100 unique smoothie recipes. So you can say we’ve had a lot of variety.

I’ll be honest: some of them have been failures. Others have been tolerable.

Then there are smoothies that were drop-dead delicious.

The following seven smoothies are a collection of my favorite smoothies I’ve made to date. They’re all fruity, all sweet… and all have a secret ingredient: beans.

Yes, beans. You read that right

I know what you’re thinking. Bean smoothies? Ew. That sounds gross. I thought the same when my husband suggested them. But since I’m willing to try anything once, I did. And I loved it.

Why add beans to a smoothie?

Well, there are quite a few reasons. Here are five:

Bean smoothies are cheaper than 100% fruit smoothies

Bean smoothies keep you full for longer

Bean smoothies tend to be thicker and creamier

Bean smoothies add more nutritional variety

Bean smoothies have more protein

For all these reasons, smoothies with beans are the ultimate weight loss smoothies. Perhaps they’re also the ultimate weight loss food.

Unlike stereotypical weight loss food (i.e. salad), beans smoothies are cheap. While you can find cheap produce and make 100% fruit smoothies for cheap, beans make the smoothies even more economical. If you cook your own beans (like I do), the cost is reduced even further.

Another benefit of adding beans is the added fiber. Beans are packed with fiber (that’s why they tend to make people gassy). The fiber and complex starch in the beans digest slower than sugar in fruit, thus keeping you full until your next meal.

Most people tend to like their smoothies creamy. You can get this quality in two ways: add milk or add beans. While almond, oat and soy milk may be tasty, they’re more expensive than beans. They also add extra liquid calories and tend to have added oil, salt and sugar. Beans, on the other hand, are a whole food. No added calories, they’re cheap and they’re less processed.

Plus, beans are super nutritious. I’m not saying the fruits smoothies aren’t nutritious, they are! But beans contain nutrients that aren’t abundant in fruits— like folate, iron, zinc and manganese.

Lastly, protein. I know you (probably) don’t need to worry about getting enough protein. But if you’re looking for a way to add some extra protein to your diet, one easy way is to add beans to your smoothie. You can also use bean smoothies to replace animal-protein heavy breakfast choices like bacon, eggs, milk and sausage.

A few notes about these weight loss smoothies…

First: These smoothie recipes feed two people for a main meal. Usually we have a little left over, too.

Second: I usually add turmeric and black pepper to all of my smoothies. They’re not required, but if you got them, add some! They’re super healthy additions and don’t change the taste. The turmeric may alter the color slightly, though.

Third: Have extra? Store leftover smoothies in the refrigerator for up to a day. I recommend freezing them after that. The leftovers make great popsicles.

Fourth: These smoothies are generally pretty thick and not too cold. Adjust the thickness and temperature of your smoothie by adding or removing water and/or ice cubes.

Now, let’s get to the smoothies!

Mixed Berry Summertime Blast

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked white beans

3 large nectarines

1 medium banana

1 cup frozen mixed berries

1 ½ cups water

3 ice cubes

Preparation:

Add the water, ice cubes and cooked beans to a blender. Pit and chop the nectarines; peel the banana and break it into medium chunks. Add the nectarines, banana and mixed berries to the blender. Blend until smooth and enjoy immediately.

Mrs. Plumberry

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked black beans

3 medium plums

1 medium banana

1 cup frozen blueberries

1 ½ cups water

½ tsp cardamom

Preparation:

Add the water and cooked black beans to a blender. Pit and chop the plums; peel the banana and break it up into medium chunks. Add the plums, banana, berries and cardamom to the blender. Blend until smooth and enjoy immediately.

Bright Beet

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked white beans

3 medium/large bananas

1 medium/large beet, cooked

1 ½ cups water

2 ice cubes

1 tsp cinnamon

Preparation:

Add the water, ice cubes and cooked white beans to a blender. Roughly chop the cooked beet; peel the bananas and break them up into medium chunks. Add the banana, beet and cinnamon to the blender. Blend until smooth and enjoy immediately.

Melon Mango Tango

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked white beans

½ medium rock melon/cantaloupe (around 4 cups)

2 medium mangoes

2 ice cubes

Preparation:

Separate the melon skin from the flesh. Chop the flesh into small pieces then add the to a blender. Skin and pit the mangoes and add them to the blender, too. Finally add the white beans and ice cubes. Blend until smooth and enjoy immediately.

Note: you may need to shake the blender to get this smoothie going. If your melon is on the small side or less juicy, you may need to add ½-1 cup of water.

Liquid Cotton Candy

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked white beans

1 Korean melon

3 medium/large bananas

15 zahidi dates

1 cup water

2 ice cubes

Preparation:

Separate the melon skin from the flesh. Chop the flesh into small pieces then add the to a blender. Peel the bananas and break them into medium pieces; pit the dates. Add the white beans, bananas, dates, water and ice cubes to a blender. Blend until smooth and enjoy immediately.

Note: if your dates are dry, soak them overnight in water to make them easier to pit and blend. You can substitute zahidi dates with deglet noor or another smaller date. If replacing with medjool, you only need to use around 10.

Banana Nutter Butter

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked black beans

4 medium bananas

1 tbsp pure peanut butter

2 cups water

1 tbsp maca powder

Preparation:

Add the water, ice cubes and cooked black beans to the blender. Peel the bananas and break them into medium pieces. Add the bananas, peanut butter, water, and maca to the blender. Blend until smooth and enjoy immediately.

Carob Sweet Potato Pie

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked black beans

160 grams cooked sweet potato (1 medium)

10 zahidi dates

2 bananas

2 cups water

2 ice cubes

1 tbsp carob

1 tsp cinnamon

Preparation:

Add the water, ice cubes and cooked black beans to the blender. Roughly chop the sweet potato into medium chunks. Peel the bananas and break them into medium pieces; pit the dates. Add the bananas, sweet potato, dates, carob and cinnamon to the blender. Blend until smooth and enjoy immediately.

Can’t wait to try these smoothies? I bet your friends would love them, too… so why not share them?